Surgical stapling apparatus with tissue pockets

ABSTRACT

An end effector includes a cartridge assembly having a first tissue contact surface, an anvil assembly having a second tissue contact surface, and one or more tissue pockets defined in one of the first or second tissue contact surfaces. The anvil and the cartridge assemblies are moveable between an open position and a closed position to selectively clamp tissue between the first and second tissue contact surfaces. Each tissue pocket is configured to capture tissue therein while the anvil and the cartridge assemblies are disposed in the closed position. Each tissue pocket is configured to prevent the tissue from migrating away from the first and second tissue contact surfaces while the tissue is clamped between the first and second tissue contact surfaces.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/344,091, filed Nov. 4, 2016, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to surgical stapling apparatus for performing endoscopic surgical procedures and methods of use thereof.

BACKGROUND

Surgical stapling apparatus that clamp, cut and/or staple tissue between opposing jaw structure are well known in the art. Such surgical stapling apparatus can include loading units with a tool assembly having two elongated jaw members used to capture or clamp tissue. One of the two jaw members usually carries a staple cartridge that houses a plurality of staples while the other of the two jaw members has an anvil for forming the staples as the staples are driven from the staple cartridge into a stapling area defined between the two jaw members. Generally, a stapling operation is effectuated by a drive member (e.g., a cam bar, a drive sled or other similar mechanism) having a cam member that travels longitudinally through channels defined in the staple cartridge and acts upon staple pushers in the channels to sequentially eject the staples from the staple cartridge. Additional stapling may be required when tissue captured between the two jaw members migrates from the stapling area in response to the compressive forces acting on the tissues resulting from the longitudinal travel of the drive member along the two jaw members as the stapling apparatus is fired.

It would be advantageous to provide a surgical stapling apparatus that reduces tissue migration from the stapling area for improving surgical stapling.

SUMMARY

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, a surgical stapling apparatus is provided. The surgical stapling apparatus includes a first jaw member, a plurality of staples, a second jaw member, and a tissue pocket. The first jaw member has a first tissue contact surface that defines staple retention slots. Each of the staples is received in a respective one of the staple retention slots of the first tissue contact surface. The second jaw member has a second tissue contact surface that defines staple pockets aligned with the staple retention slots of the first tissue contact surface. Each staple pocket of the second tissue contact surface is configured to form a respective one of the staples as the surgical stapling apparatus is fired. The tissue pocket is defined in one of the first or second tissue contact surfaces and configured to capture tissue therein to prevent the tissue from migrating away from the first and second tissue contact surfaces as the surgical stapling apparatus is fired.

In some embodiments, the tissue pocket may be positioned between two adjacent staple retention slots of the staple retention slots.

In certain embodiments, the tissue pocket may be positioned between two adjacent staple pockets of the staple pockets.

In some embodiments, the surgical stapling apparatus may further include a second tissue pocket defined in one of the first or second tissue contact surfaces.

In certain embodiments, the tissue pocket may include tissue pockets defined in the first tissue contact surface and positioned along the first jaw member between the staple retention slots.

In some embodiments, the tissue pocket may include tissue pockets defined in the second tissue contact surface and positioned along the second jaw member between the staple pockets.

In certain embodiments, the tissue pocket may include tissue pockets including a first set of tissue pockets and a second set of tissue pockets. The first set of tissue pockets may be defined in the first tissue contact surface and positioned along the first jaw member between the staple retention slots. The second set of tissue pockets may be defined in the second tissue contact surface and positioned along the second jaw member between the staple pockets.

In some embodiments, the first jaw member may extend to a first peripheral edge and the second jaw member may extend to a second peripheral edge. The tissue pocket may be defined in one of the first or second peripheral edges. The tissue pocket may include tissue pockets defined in one or both of the first and second peripheral edges. The tissue pockets may include a first set of tissue pockets and a second set of tissue pockets. The first set of tissue pockets may be defined in the first tissue contact surface at a location offset from the first peripheral edge. The second set of tissue pockets may be defined in the second tissue contact surface at a location offset from the second peripheral edge.

In certain embodiments, the tissue pocket may define an open curve. In some embodiments, the tissue pocket may define a closed curve.

According to yet another aspect of the present disclosure, an end effector for a surgical stapling apparatus is provided. The end effector includes a cartridge assembly, an anvil assembly, a knife assembly, and a tissue pocket. The cartridge assembly has a first tissue contact surface and the anvil assembly has a second tissue contact surface. The anvil assembly and the cartridge assembly are positioned to move between an open position and a closed position to selectively clamp tissue between the first and second tissue contact surfaces. The knife assembly includes a knife configured to move relative to the anvil and cartridge assemblies to sever tissue clamped between the first and second tissue contact surfaces of the anvil and cartridge assemblies, respectively. The tissue pocket is defined in one of the first or second tissue contact surfaces and is configured to capture tissue therein to prevent the tissue from migrating away from the first and second tissue contact surfaces as the knife moves relative to the anvil and cartridge assemblies.

In some embodiments, the end effector further includes a second tissue pocket defined in one of the first or second tissue contact surfaces.

In certain embodiments, the tissue pocket may include tissue pockets defined in the first tissue contact surface and tissue pockets defined in the second tissue contact surface.

In some embodiments, the cartridge member may extend to a first peripheral edge and the anvil assembly may extend to a second peripheral edge. The tissue pocket may be defined in one of the first or second peripheral edges. The tissue pocket may include tissue pockets defined in one or both of the first and second peripheral edges. The tissue pockets may include a first set of tissue pockets and a second set of tissue pockets. The first set of tissue pockets may be defined in the first tissue contact surface at a location offset from the first peripheral edge. The second set of tissue pockets may be defined in the second tissue contact surface at a location offset from the second peripheral edge.

In accordance with still another aspect of the present disclosure, an end effector includes a cartridge assembly, an anvil assembly, and one or more tissue pockets. The cartridge assembly has a first tissue contact surface and the anvil assembly has a second tissue contact surface. The anvil and cartridge assemblies are operably coupled together and are positioned to move between an open position and a closed position to selectively clamp tissue between the first and second tissue contact surfaces. The one or more tissue pockets are defined in one of the first or second tissue contact surfaces and are configured to capture tissue therein while the anvil and cartridge assemblies are disposed in the closed position. The one or more tissue pockets are configured to prevent the tissue from migrating away from the first and second tissue contact surfaces while the tissue is clamped between the first and second tissue contact surfaces.

Other aspects, features, and advantages will be apparent from the description, the drawings, and the claims that follow.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the disclosure and, together with a general description of the disclosure given above, and the detailed description of the embodiment(s) given below, serve to explain the principles of the disclosure, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a surgical stapling apparatus in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a loading unit of the surgical stapling apparatus of FIG. 1 ;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged, perspective view of a portion of an end effector of the loading unit of FIG. 2 with the end effector in an open position;

FIG. 3A is a bottom view of a portion of an anvil assembly of the end effector of FIG. 3 ;

FIG. 3B is a schematic top view of a cartridge assembly of the end effector of FIG. 3 .

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the end effector of FIG. 3 shown in a closed position with tissue clamped between the anvil assembly and the cartridge assembly of the end effector.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged, cross-sectional view of taken along section line 5-5 of FIG. 4 ; and

FIG. 6 is a schematic illustration of a medical work station and operating console in accordance with the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments of the presently disclosed surgical stapling apparatus are described in detail with reference to the drawings, in which like reference numerals designate identical or corresponding elements in each of the several views. As used herein, the term “distal” refers to that portion of the apparatus, and/or component thereof, farther from the user, while the term “proximal” refers to that portion of the apparatus, and/or component thereof, closer to the user. As used herein, the term “clinician” refers to a doctor, nurse, or other care provider and may include support personnel. As used herein, the term “tissue migration” or the like refers to travelling movement of tissue from a stapling area of a surgical stapling apparatus in response to extrusion forces, compression forces and/or other similar forces imparted to the tissue as a result of operation of the surgical stapling apparatus. In the following description, well-known functions or constructions are not described in detail to avoid obscuring the present disclosure in unnecessary detail.

Turning now to FIGS. 1 and 2 , an electromechanical surgical stapling system or apparatus, generally referred to as 10, includes a surgical device 100 in the form of a powered handheld electromechanical instrument, an adapter assembly 200, and a surgical loading unit (e.g., multiple- or single-use loading unit) or an end effector 300. The end effector 300 includes an anvil assembly 310 and a cartridge assembly 320 that are movable between an open position (FIG. 3 ) and a closed position (FIG. 4 ) to selectively clamp tissue “T” (FIG. 4 ) for cutting and/or stapling the tissue “T.” The cartridge assembly 320 includes a stapling and cutting cartridge or reload 330 that may be selectively removable from the cartridge assembly 320. The surgical device 100 is configured for selective connection with the adapter assembly 200, and, in turn, the adapter assembly 200 is configured for selective connection with the end effector 300. Together, the surgical device 100 and the adapter assembly 200 cooperate to actuate the end effector 300.

In some embodiments, the surgical device 100 of the electromechanical surgical stapling system 10 defines a longitudinal axis “X” and includes a handle housing 102 that defines a cavity “C” for selective removable receipt of a rechargeable battery 103. The battery 103 is configured to supply power to electrical components of the surgical device 100. The cavity “C” supports a controller or circuit board 105 configured to control various operations of the surgical device 100 and a drive mechanism 106 configured to drive rotatable shafts and/or gear components (not shown) within the handle housing 102 in order to perform various operations of the surgical device 100. For instance, the drive mechanism 106 may be operable to selectively articulate and/or rotate the end effector 300 about, and/or relative to, the longitudinal axis “X” of the electromechanical surgical stapling system 10; to selectively move the anvil assembly 310 and/or the cartridge assembly 320 with respect to one another between the open and closed positions to clamp tissue; and/or to fire the reload 330. The battery 103, controller 105, and/or drive mechanism 106 may be operably coupled to one or more triggers 107 a, 107 b such as finger-actuated control buttons, rocker devices, and/or the like to effectuate various functions of the electromechanical surgical stapling system 10 such as those described above.

Reference may be made to International Application No. PCT/US2008/077249, filed Sep. 22, 2008 (Inter. Pub. No. WO 2009/039506), U.S. Patent Application 2015/0157320, filed Nov. 21, 2014, and U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2011/0121049, filed on Nov. 20, 2009, the entire contents of each of which are incorporated herein by reference, for a detailed description of the construction and operation of various exemplary electromechanical surgical systems, the components of which are combinable and/or interchangeable with one or more components of electromechanical surgical systems 10 described herein.

Although the surgical stapling apparatus is described as an electromechanically powered surgical stapling apparatus, the presently disclosed surgical stapling apparatus can be provided as a manually powered stapling apparatus. For a more detailed description of the construction and operation of an exemplary manually powered stapling apparatus, one or more components of which can be combined and/or interchanged with the electromechanically powered stapling apparatus described herein, reference can be made to U.S. Pat. No. 8,777,082, filed Dec. 20, 2012, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference herein. Moreover, the presently disclosed surgical stapling apparatus can provided as any suitable surgical stapling apparatus such as a transverse stapling apparatus, an open stapling apparatus, an endoscopic stapling apparatus, a circular stapling apparatus and/or combinations of one or more components of one or more of these stapling apparatus. For a more detailed description of the construction and operation of examples of such stapling apparatus, reference can be made to U.S. Pat. No. 7,407,075 for a general description of examples of each of these surgical stapling apparatus, and/or to U.S. Pat. No. 5,915,616 (circular stapling apparatus), U.S. Pat. No. 6,202,914 (open stapling apparatus), U.S. Pat. No. 5,865,361 (endoscopic stapling apparatus), and/or U.S. Pat. No. 5,964,394 (transverse stapling apparatus) for more detailed descriptions of each of these surgical stapling apparatus, the entire contents of each of which are incorporated by reference herein.

Turning now to FIGS. 3-5 , the anvil assembly 310 of the end effector 300 includes an anvil body 312 and an anvil plate 314 supported on the anvil body 312. The anvil plate 314 extends to laterally-facing outer side surfaces or peripheral edges 315 and includes a tissue contact surface 314 a (FIG. 3A). The tissue contact surface 314 a of the anvil plate 314 defines staple forming pockets 314 b configured to receive and form staples 334 ejected from the cartridge assembly 320. The staple forming pockets 314 b of the tissue contact surface 314 a are positioned in one or more rows that may be in the form of longitudinal arrays along the tissue contact surface 314 a. Adjacent staple forming pockets 314 b of the tissue contact surface 314 a may be disposed in longitudinally and/or laterally spaced relation. In some embodiments, adjacent staple forming pockets 314 b and/or inner and/or outer tissue pockets 314 d, 314 c may be in the form of annular arrays that are radially spaced apart (e.g., a circular stapling apparatus).

The anvil plate 314 further includes outer tissue pockets 314 c formed in the peripheral edges 315 of the tissue contact surface 314 a of the anvil plate 314 and inner tissue pockets 314 d formed along the tissue contact surface 314 a at locations adjacent to the staple forming pockets 314 b and between the outer tissue pockets 314 c. For example, adjacent inner tissue pockets 314 d may be positioned at longitudinally and/or laterally spaced locations relative to one another along the tissue contact surface 314 a of the anvil plate 314.

Each of the inner and outer tissue pockets 314 c and 314 d are configured to capture tissue “T” clamped between the anvil and cartridge assemblies 310, 320 while the anvil and cartridge assemblies 310, 320 are disposed in the closed position (FIG. 4 ) to prevent tissue migration during a firing of the surgical system 10. The anvil plate 314 also defines a knife channel 314 e that extends longitudinally through the anvil plate 314. The knife channel 314 e may be disposed centrally between one or more of the rows of the staple forming pockets 314 b or tissue pockets 314 c, 314 d.

The cartridge assembly 320 of the end effector 300 includes a support body 322 and a reload 330 configured for selective attachment to the support body 322. In some embodiments, the cartridge assembly 320 further supports a lead screw 324 (FIG. 5 ) that is operatively coupled to the drive mechanism 106 (FIG. 1 ) of the surgical device 100 to enable the drive mechanism 106 to rotate the lead screw 324. The lead screw 324 is threadably coupled to a drive beam 326 and rotatable to advance the drive beam 326 along the anvil and cartridge assemblies 310, 320. The drive beam 326 supports a distally extending knife 328 and is configured to translate longitudinally through the end effector 300 to move the anvil and cartridge assemblies 310, 320 between the open and closed positions (FIGS. 3 and 4 , respectively) and to sever tissue “T.”

The reload 330 of the cartridge assembly 320 includes a cartridge body 332 having a tissue contact surface 332 a. The tissue contact surface 332 a of the cartridge body 332 defines longitudinally extending rows of staple retention slots 332 b that support rows of staples 334 therein. The longitudinal extending rows of staple retention slots 332 b are supported within a stapling area “SA” and extend between one or more distal-most retention slots “DRS” and one or more proximal-most retention slots “PRS”, as seen, for example, in FIG. 3B. The longitudinally extending rows of staple retention slots 332 b of the cartridge assembly 320 correspond to, and align with, the longitudinally extending rows of the staple forming pockets 314 b (FIG. 3A) of the anvil assembly 310. The cartridge body 332 further includes tabs 332 c that snap-fit to the support body 322 of the cartridge assembly 320. The reload 330 further defines a longitudinally extending knife slot 332 d that extends through the tissue contact surface 332 a and is configured to receive the knife 328 of the drive beam 326 as the drive beam 326 advances therethrough. The reload 330 further supports an actuation sled 336 (FIG. 5 ) that is engagable with the drive beam 326 and advanceable along the cartridge body 332 of the reload 330 to engage pushers 338 (FIG. 5 ) supported within the cartridge body 332. The pushers 338 are positioned to support the staples 334 in the reload 330. The pushers 338 are also positioned to vertically advance through the staple retention slots 332 b of the tissue contact surface 332 a of the cartridge body 332 to eject the staples 334 for formation of the staples 334 against the staple forming pockets 314 b (FIG. 3A) of the anvil assembly 310 as the actuation sled 336 engages the pushers 338.

Similar to the tissue contact surface 314 a of the anvil assembly 310, the tissue contact surface 332 a of the reload 330 defines inner tissue pockets 332 e and outer tissue pockets 332 f that may have the same function and construction as the inner and outer tissue pockets 314 c, 314 d of the anvil assembly 310. Each of the tissue pockets 314 c, 314 d, 332 e, 332 f is configured to prevent tissue migration from a stapling area “SA” (FIG. 5 ) defined between the first and second tissue contact surfaces 314 a, 332 a of the anvil plate 314 and cartridge body 332 during a firing of the surgical system 10 (FIG. 1 ).

The inner and outer tissue pockets 314 d, 314 c of the anvil assembly 310 and the inner and outer tissue pockets 332 e, 332 f of the reload 330 may have any suitable shape such as circular, non-circular, polygonal, rectangular, open, closed, etc. For example, the inner tissue pockets 314 d of the anvil assembly 310 and/or the inner tissue pockets 332 e of the reload 330 may include closed circular-shaped curves and the outer tissue pockets 314 c of the anvil assembly 310 and/or the outer tissue pockets 332 f of the reload may include open crescent-shaped curves. In certain embodiments, the outer tissue pockets 314 c, 332 f may define a scalloped profile along a length of the end effector 300. In some embodiments, one or more of the tissue pockets 314 c, 314 d, 332 e, 332 f may include multiple shapes at one location. One or more of the tissue pockets 314 c, 314 d, 332 e, 332 f may include any suitable dimension such as smaller and/or larger than one or more of the staple forming pockets 314 b and/or the staple retaining slots 332 b.

In use, the trigger 107 b (FIG. 1 ) of the surgical instrument 100 may be actuated to cause the lead screw 324 of the end effector 300 to advance the drive beam 326 of the end effector 300 axially through the end effector 300. As the drive beam 326 advances through the end effector 300, the anvil and cartridge assemblies 310, 320 of the end effector 300 clamp together in the closed position (FIG. 4 ) to clamp tissue “T” in the stapling area “SA” defined between the anvil and cartridge assemblies 310, 320. As the anvil and cartridge assemblies 310, 320 are approximated, the anvil and cartridge assemblies 310, 320 clamp tissue “T” to compress the clamped tissue “CT” (FIG. 5 ) into the inner and outer tissue pockets 314 c, 314 d, 332 e, 332 f of the respective anvil and cartridge assemblies 310, 320.

Continued distal advancement of the drive beam 326 of the end effector 300 causes the drive beam 326 to engage the actuation sled 336 of the reload 330 and advance through the longitudinal knife slots 332 d, 314 e of the reload 330 and anvil plate 314, respectively. Distal advancement of the drive beam 326 advances the actuation sled 336 into engagement with the pushers 338 of the reload 330 to fire the staples 334 from the staple retention slots 332 b of the reload 330 for forming against the corresponding staple forming pockets 314 b defined within the anvil plate 314 of the anvil assembly 310. As the drive beam 326 advances, the drive beam 326 pushes through and compresses the clamped tissue “CT” (FIG. 5 ) as the knife 328 of the drive beam 326 cuts the clamped tissue “CT.” With portions of the clamped tissue “CT” captured within the tissue pockets 314 c, 314 d, 332 e, 332 f of the anvil and cartridge assemblies 310, 320, the tissue pockets 314 c, 314 d, 332 e, 332 f prevent the clamped tissue “CT” from migrating away or otherwise extruding from the stapling area “SA” in response to the pushing or compressive forces imparted on the clamped tissue “CT” as the drive beam 326 pushes through the clamped tissue “CT.”

Reverse rotation of the lead screw 334 causes the drive beam 326 to retract so that the anvil and cartridge assemblies 310, 320 open the end effector 300, whereby the reload 330 can be replaced so that the end effector 300 can then be re-fired as needed or desired.

As can be appreciated, securement of any of the components of the presently disclosed devices can be effectuated using known fastening techniques such welding, crimping, gluing, etc.

The various embodiments disclosed herein may also be configured to work with robotic surgical systems and what is commonly referred to as “Telesurgery.” Such systems employ various robotic elements to assist the clinician and allow remote operation (or partial remote operation) of surgical instrumentation. Various robotic arms, gears, cams, pulleys, electric and mechanical motors, etc. may be employed for this purpose and may be designed with a robotic surgical system to assist the clinician during the course of an operation or treatment. Such robotic systems may include remotely steerable systems, automatically flexible surgical systems, remotely flexible surgical systems, remotely articulating surgical systems, wireless surgical systems, modular or selectively configurable remotely operated surgical systems, etc.

The robotic surgical systems may be employed with one or more consoles that are next to the operating theater or located in a remote location. In this instance, one team of clinicians may prep the patient for surgery and configure the robotic surgical system with one or more of the instruments disclosed herein while another clinician (or group of clinicians) remotely control the instruments via the robotic surgical system. As can be appreciated, a highly skilled clinician may perform multiple operations in multiple locations without leaving his/her remote console which can be both economically advantageous and a benefit to the patient or a series of patients.

The robotic arms of the surgical system are typically coupled to a pair of master handles by a controller. The handles can be moved by the clinician to produce a corresponding movement of the working ends of any type of surgical instrument (e.g., end effectors, graspers, knifes, scissors, etc.) which may complement the use of one or more of the embodiments described herein. The movement of the master handles may be scaled so that the working ends have a corresponding movement that is different, smaller or larger, than the movement performed by the operating hands of the clinician. The scale factor or gearing ratio may be adjustable so that the operator can control the resolution of the working ends of the surgical instrument(s).

The master handles may include various sensors to provide feedback to the clinician relating to various tissue parameters or conditions, e.g., tissue resistance due to manipulation, cutting or otherwise treating, pressure by the instrument onto the tissue, tissue temperature, tissue impedance, etc. As can be appreciated, such sensors provide the clinician with enhanced tactile feedback simulating actual operating conditions. The master handles may also include a variety of different actuators for delicate tissue manipulation or treatment further enhancing the clinician's ability to mimic actual operating conditions.

Referring also to FIG. 6 , a medical work station is shown generally as work station 1000 and generally may include a plurality of robot arms 1002, 1003; a control device 1004; and an operating console 1005 coupled with the control device 1004. The operating console 1005 may include a display device 1006, which may be set up in particular to display three-dimensional images; and manual input devices 1007, 1008, by means of which a person (not shown), for example a clinician, may be able to telemanipulate the robot arms 1002, 1003 in a first operating mode.

Each of the robot arms 1002, 1003 may include a plurality of members, which are connected through joints, and an attaching device 1009, 1011, to which may be attached, for example, a surgical tool “ST” supporting an end effector 1100 (e.g., a pair of jaw members) including tissue pockets in accordance with any one of several embodiments disclosed herein.

The robot arms 1002, 1003 may be driven by electric drives (not shown) that are connected to the control device 1004. The control device 1004 (e.g., a computer) may be set up to activate the drives, in particular by means of a computer program, in such a way that the robot arms 1002, 1003, their attaching devices 1009, 1011 and thus the surgical tool (including the end effector 1100) execute a desired movement according to a movement defined by means of the manual input devices 1007, 1008. The control device 1004 may also be set up in such a way that it regulates the movement of the robot arms 1002, 1003 and/or of the drives.

The medical work station 1000 may be configured for use on a patient “P” lying on a patient table 1012 to be treated in a minimally invasive manner by means of the end effector 1100. The medical work station 1000 may also include more than two robot arms 1002, 1003, the additional robot arms likewise connected to the control device 1004 and telemanipulatable by means of the operating console 1005. A surgical system, such as the presently disclosed surgical system, may also be attached to the additional robot arm. The medical work station 1000 may include a database 1014 coupled with the control device 1004. In some embodiments, pre-operative data from patient/living being “P” and/or anatomical atlases may be stored in the database 1014. For a more detailed description of exemplary medical work stations and/or components thereof, reference may be made to U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2012/0116416, filed on Nov. 3, 2011, entitled “Medical Workstation” and PCT Application Publication No. WO2016/025132, filed on Jul. 21, 2015, entitled “Robotically Controlling Mechanical Advantage Gripping, the entire contents of each of which are incorporated by reference herein.

Persons skilled in the art will understand that the structures and methods specifically described herein and shown in the accompanying figures are non-limiting exemplary embodiments, and that the description, disclosure, and figures should be construed merely as exemplary of particular embodiments. It is to be understood, therefore, that the present disclosure is not limited to the precise embodiments described, and that various other changes and modifications may be effected by one skilled in the art without departing from the scope or spirit of the disclosure. Additionally, the elements and features shown or described in connection with certain embodiments may be combined with the elements and features of certain other embodiments without departing from the scope of the present disclosure, and that such modifications and variations are also included within the scope of the present disclosure. Accordingly, the subject matter of the present disclosure is not limited by what has been particularly shown and described. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A robotic surgical stapling apparatus comprising: a first jaw member having a first tissue contact surface and laterally-facing outer side surfaces, the first tissue contact surface defining a plurality of staple retention slots configured to support staples therein, the plurality of staple retention slots including a proximal-most staple retention slot and a distal-most staple retention slot; a stapling area defined between the proximal-most staple retention slot and the distal-most staple retention slot; a second jaw member having an outer top surface, a second tissue contact surface, and laterally-facing outer side surfaces that extend between the outer top surface and the second tissue contact surface of the second jaw member, the second tissue contact surface defining a plurality of staple pockets for forming the staples, the plurality of staple pockets aligned with the plurality of staple retention slots of the first tissue contact surface; and a plurality of tissue pockets defined in the laterally-facing outer side surfaces of the second jaw member and through the outer top surface of the second jaw member, the plurality of tissue pockets configured to enable the second jaw member to capture tissue therein to prevent the tissue from migrating away from the stapling area as the surgical stapling apparatus is fired.
 2. The robotic surgical stapling apparatus of claim 1, wherein the plurality of tissue pockets is longitudinally spaced apart.
 3. The robotic surgical stapling apparatus of claim 1, wherein the plurality of tissue pockets includes at least one tissue pocket that is transversely aligned with one of the distal-most staple retention slot or the proximal-most retention slot.
 4. The robotic surgical stapling apparatus of claim 3, further comprising at least one annular tissue pocket defined in one of the first tissue contact surface or the second tissue contact surfaces, the annular tissue pocket configured to capture the tissue therein to prevent the tissue from migrating away from the stapling area as the surgical stapling apparatus is fired.
 5. The robotic surgical stapling apparatus of claim 4, wherein the plurality of staple retention slots includes a first row of staple retention slots, each staple retention slot within the first row being longitudinally spaced apart from all other staple retention slots within the first row, wherein each annular tissue pocket is longitudinally spaced apart from each staple retention slot in the first row to facilitate tissue gripping between the staple retention slots of the first row.
 6. The robotic surgical stapling apparatus of claim 5, wherein each annular tissue pocket is aligned with the first row.
 7. The robotic surgical stapling apparatus of claim 4, wherein the at least one annular tissue pocket includes a plurality of annular tissue pockets, and wherein each annular tissue pocket is smaller than each staple retention slot and each staple pocket.
 8. The robotic surgical stapling apparatus of claim 1, wherein the tissue pockets are crescent-shaped cutouts that open laterally outward from the second jaw member.
 9. The robotic surgical stapling apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first jaw member and the second jaw member are positioned to move from an open position to a closed position to clamp the tissue therebetween.
 10. The robotic surgical stapling apparatus of claim 9, further comprising a drive beam that advances through the first jaw member and the second jaw member to fire the staples from the staple retaining slots for formation against the staple pockets, wherein the tissue pockets grip the clamped tissue to the laterally-facing outer side surfaces of the first jaw member or the second jaw member to prevent the clamped tissue from migrating away from the stapling area as the drive beam imparts pushing force on the clamped tissue when the drive beam advances through the first jaw member and the second jaw member to fire the staples.
 11. A robotic surgical stapling system comprising: a robot arm; and a surgical instrument supported on the robot arm and extending to an end effector, the end effector including: a first jaw member having a first tissue contact surface and laterally-facing outer side surfaces, the first tissue contact surface defining a plurality of staple retention slots configured to support staples therein, the plurality of staple retention slots including a proximal-most staple retention slot and a distal-most staple retention slot; a stapling area defined between the proximal-most staple retention slot and the distal-most staple retention slot; a second jaw member having a second tissue contact surface and laterally-facing outer side surfaces, the second tissue contact surface defining a plurality of staple pockets for forming the staples, the plurality of staple pockets aligned with the plurality of staple retention slots of the first tissue contact surface; and a plurality of tissue pockets defined in the laterally-facing outer side surfaces of the first jaw member, the plurality of tissue pockets configured to enable the first jaw member to capture tissue therein to prevent the tissue from migrating away from the stapling area as the surgical stapling apparatus is fired.
 12. The robotic surgical stapling system of claim 11, wherein the plurality of tissue pockets is longitudinally spaced apart.
 13. The robotic surgical stapling system of claim 11, wherein the plurality of tissue pockets includes at least one tissue pocket that is transversely aligned with one of the distal-most staple retention slot or the proximal-most retention slot.
 14. The robotic surgical stapling system of claim 13, further comprising at least one annular tissue pocket defined in one of the first tissue contact surface or the second tissue contact surface, the annular tissue pocket configured to capture the tissue therein to prevent the tissue from migrating away from the stapling area as the surgical stapling apparatus is fired.
 15. The robotic surgical stapling system of claim 14, wherein the plurality of staple retention slots includes a first row of staple retention slots, each staple retention slot within the first row being longitudinally spaced apart from all other staple retention slots within the first row, wherein each annular tissue pocket is longitudinally spaced apart from each staple retention slot in the first row to facilitate tissue gripping between the staple retention slots of the first row.
 16. The robotic surgical stapling system of claim 15, wherein each annular tissue pocket is aligned with the first row.
 17. The robotic surgical stapling system of claim 14, wherein the at least one annular tissue pocket includes a plurality of annular tissue pockets, and wherein each annular tissue pocket is smaller than each staple retention slot and each staple pocket.
 18. The robotic surgical stapling system of claim 11, wherein the tissue pockets are crescent-shaped cutouts that open laterally outward from the first jaw member.
 19. The robotic surgical stapling system of claim 11, wherein the first jaw member and the second jaw member are positioned to move from an open position to a closed position to clamp the tissue therebetween.
 20. The robotic surgical stapling system of claim 19, further comprising a drive beam that advances through the first jaw member and the second jaw member to fire the staples from the staple retaining slots for formation against the staple pockets, wherein the tissue pockets grip the clamped tissue to the laterally-facing outer side surfaces of the first jaw member or the second jaw member to prevent the clamped tissue from migrating away from the stapling area as the drive beam imparts pushing force on the clamped tissue when the drive beam advances through the first jaw member and the second jaw member to fire the staples. 